Sains Malaysiana 39(5)(2010): 791–794

Physico-Chemical Properties and Quality of Palm-Based Vegetable Ghee

(Ciri-Ciri Fiziko-Kimia dan Kualiti Minyak Sapi Sayuran Berasaskan Minyak Sawit)

I. NOR AINI*, H. HANIRAH, C.H. MAIMON,

S. ZAWIAH & Y.B. CHE MAN

ABSTRACT
Samples of trans-free vegetable ghee were made using palm oil/palm stearin/palm olein (PO/POs/POo) blends (set A)
and using palm oil/palm stearin/palm kernel olein (PO/POs/PKOo) blends (set B). Palm stearin of iodine value (IV)
30 was used in this study. The products were evaluated for their physical and chemical properties. Changes in quality
during storage were monitored during a period of 16 weeks. Most of the vegetable ghee were granular (grainy) and
had a shiny appearance. Chemical analyses indicated that vegetable ghee consisting of PO/POs/POo had higher IV
(47.7-52.4) than the PO/POs/PKOo vegetable ghee due to their higher content of unsaturated fatty acids, 46.0-50.0%
compared to 36.6-45.0% in Set B. Decreasing the amount of palm oil while increasing palm stearin in the formulations
resulted in higher slip melting point (SMP) and higher yield values. Eutectic interaction was noted in PO/POs/PKOo
blends. The crystals in samples PO/POs/POo (set A) were predominant in the ß’ polymorphic form. One formulation
in set B (B4) exhibited ß crystallinity. Free fatty acids (FFA) were lowest in samples PO/POs/POo 80:5:15 (A4) and
PO/POs:/PKOo 80:5:15 (B4) throughout storage. There was no clear trend on anisidine value (AV) while IV remained
almost constant. Selected vegetable ghee, A4 wasused to shallow fry roti canai and for cooking nasi minyak. Sensory
evaluation on these two products revealed that there was no significant difference (P < 0.05) in texture, taste and overall
quality between samples A4 and B4.

Keywords: Palm stearn; vegetable ghee

ABSTRAK
Sampel minyak sapi sayuran yang bebas asid lemak trans dibuat menggunakan adunan set A iaitu minyak sawit/stearin
sawit/olein sawit (PO/POs/POo) dan adunan set B iaitu minyak sawit/stearin sawit/olein isirung sawit (PO/POs/PKOo).
Stearin sawit dengan nilai iodin (IV) 30 digunakan dalam kajian ini. Produk-produk dinilai daripada segi ciri fizikal dan
kimia. Perubahan kualiti semasa penyimpanan dikaji selama 16 minggu. Kebanyakan sampel mempunyai hablur yang
kasar dan permukaan yang kelihatan berkilat. Analisis kimia menunjukkan sampel minyak sapi sayuran berasaskan
PO/POs/POo mempunyai nilai iodin lebih tinggi (47.7-52.4) daripada sampel berasaskan PO/POs/PKOo disebabkan
kandungan asid lemak tidak tepu yang lebih tinggi, 46.0-50.0% berbanding 36.6-45.0% dalam set B. Apabila kandungan
minyak sawit dikurangkan dan kandungan stearin sawit ditingkatkan di dalam formulasi, didapati takat lebur dan
penghasilan meningkat. Interaksi eutektik dilihat pada adunan berasaskan PO/POs/PKOo. Hablur dalam sampel PO/
POs/PKOo (set A) kebanyakannya dalam bentuk β’. Satu formulasi dalam set B (B4) menunjukkan hablur dalam bentuk
β. Kandungan asid lemak bebas adalah paling rendah dalam sampel PO/POs/PKOo 80:5:15 (A4) dan PO/POs/PKOo
80:5:15 (B4) sepanjang tempoh kajian. Tiada corak yang jelas tentang nilai anisidin (AV) tetapi nilai iodin (IV) tidak
banyak berubah. Minyak sapi sayuran sampel A4 digunakan untuk menggoreng roti canai dan membuat nasi minyak.
Penilaian deria ke atas produk-produk ini menunjukkan tiada perbezaan yang bererti (P < 0.05) dari segi tekstur, rasa
dan kualiti keseluruhan antara sampel A4 dan B4.

Kata kunci: Minyak sapi; stearin sawit

INTRODUCTION
Initially, vegetable ghee which is also known as vanaspati
was produced using a single hydrogenated oil, for
example cottonseed or groundnut oil. As the industry
grew, products based on blends of oils or animal fats
were produced. Presently, soybean, rapeseed, cottonseed,
and palm oil (PO) are the most commonly used oils in
the formulation of vegetable ghee. These oils usually
have to be hydrogenated in order to achieve the required
characteristics for vegetable ghee. Hydrogenation is a
fairly costly process and produces undesirable trans fatty
acids (TFA). Most of the TFA content in the human diet
derived from the partial hydrogenation of fats. Several
published reports have indicated that TFA have a negative
impact on plasma lipoprotein profile by lowering high-
density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and raising the
low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Margarine,
shortenings and vegetable ghee are manufactured
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by hydrogenation of vegetable oils, during which a Table 1. Formulation of vegetable ghee

reduction in the unsaturation of oils and an increase in
the isomerization at the double bonds take place. Hence, Oil Blend ratios Code
there is a worldwide concern about the consumption of Palm oil/palm stearin/palm olein
these hydrogenated fats. Legislation in the USA requires (PO/POs IV 30/POo)
manufacturers to list TFA on the nutrition facts label of 80 : 10 : 10 A1
conventional foods and some dietary supplements as of 60 : 20 : 20 A2
January 1, 2006 (Wilson 2004). There is an urgent need 40 : 30 : 30 a3
to develop vegetable ghee like products having similar 80 : 5 : 15
a4
physical properties but with no TFA to meet the demands
Palm oil/palm stearin/palm kernel olein
and requirements of health-conscious consumers. In (PO/POs IV 30/PKOo)
India, about 1.1 million metric tons of vegetable ghee is
80 : 10 : 10 B1
being produced annually, and a large amount is utilized
60 : 20 : 20 B2
in confectionery, bakery and ready-to-eat foods (Jeyarani
40 : 30 : 30 B3
& Reddy 2005). Palm oil, which has a melting point 80 : 5 : 15
between 33-39°C and IV of 50-55 has similar physical B4
characteristics to vegetable ghee, and therefore does not
require hydrogenation. In this context, palm oil is as a
suitable alternative to hydrogenated fats. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Most of the vegetable ghee samples were granular (grainy)
MATERIALS AND METHODS and had a shiny appearance. Samples in set B were more
granular than those in set A. This characteristic grainy
structure is very important in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Materials
and certain Middle Eastern countries. By comparison,
PO (IV 50), POs (IV 30), POo (IV 55) and PKOo (IV 22) vegetable ghee produced by Malaysian manufacturers are
were obtained from local refineries. The oils were melted not as granular as those produced by Indian manufacturers.
and mixed according to the formulations shown in Table Malaysian consumers are more concerned with the flavour
1. The products were poured into plastic tubs and kept of the product.
at 5°C. They were later stored at room temperature for IV of vegetable ghee in set A consisting of PO/POs/
further analyses. POo blends ranged from 51.1 to 52.4. On the other hand,
vegetable ghee in set B containing PO/POs/PKOo had
Physico-chemical analyses lower IV ranging from 39.9 to 48.7. The lower IV in set
IV, fatty acid composition (FAC), SMP, solid fat content B was due to the FAC of PKOo which had more saturated
(SFC), texture evaluation, PV, FFA and AV were determined fatty acids (i.e. C8:0, C10:0, C12:0 and C14:0) than POo
according to MPOB Test Methods (2005). X-ray diffraction present in set A samples (Table 2). These fatty acids were
analysis was used to determine the polymorphic forms of virtually absent in set A samples containing POo. The
fat crystals as described previously (Nor Aini et al. 1999). total saturated fatty acids in set A samples ranged from
Appearance and consistency of vegetable ghee were noted 49.1 to 53.0% while in set B it ranged from 53.9 to 62.7%.
by physical observation. Samples in set A contained more unsaturated fatty acids,

Table 2. Fatty acid composition and iodine value of vegetable ghee samples

Fatty acid composition (% wt) Total Total Iodine

Code Sample
C8:0 C10:0 C12:0 C14:0 C16:0 C18:0 C18:1 C18:2 Others saturated unsaturated value
fatty acid fatty acid
PO/POs/POo
A1 80:10:10 - - 0.3 1.1 44.5 4.1 39.5 9.5 1.0 50.0 49.0 51.9
A2 60:20:20 - - 0.3 1.1 46.0 4.2 38.2 9.3 0.9 51.6 47.5 51.1
A3 40:30:30 - - 0.2 1.2 47.4 4.2 37.0 9.0 1.0 53.0 46.0 51.3
A4 80:5:15 - - 0.3 1.1 43.5 4.2 39.5 10.5 0.9 49.1 50.0 52.4
PO/POs/PKOo
B1 80:10:10 0.5 0.4 4.5 2.4 42.1 4.0 36.4 8.6 1.1 53.9 45.0 48.1
B2 60:20:20 0.9 0.7 8.6 3.5 41.3 3.9 32.9 7.4 0.8 58.9 40.3 45.5
B3 40:30:30 1.4 1.1 12.9 4.8 38.7 3.8 30.0 6.6 0.7 62.7 36.6 39.9
B4 80:5:15 0.7 0.6 6.6 2.9 39.0 4.1 35.6 9.4 1.1 53.9 45.0 48.7
 793

namely C18:1 and C18:2 (total unsaturated fatty acids
ranged from 46.0 to 50.0%) compared to samples in set B
(total unsaturated fatty acids ranged from 36.6 to 45.0%).
The unsaturated fatty acids account for the higher IV of
samples in set A.
Vegetable ghee sample A4 recorded the lowest SMP
of 37.2°C followed by sample B4 (38.0°C) (Table 3).
SMP of these two samples were lower than SMP of the
hydrogenated commercial sample (38.5°C). Decreasing
the amount of PO while increasing POs in the formulations
resulted in higher SMP in both sets of samples A (37.2 to
46.8°C) and B (38.0 to 48.2°C).
X-ray diffraction analyses showed that samples A1
and B1 were in the ß’ polymorphic form. Both of these
samples contained 80% PO, 10% POs, and 10% of either
POo (A1) or PKOo (B1). ß’ crystalline form is predominant
in set A samples (A2 and A3) while sample A4 contained
equal amounts of ß’ and ß. Set B samples also contained
more ß’ and ß polymorphic form, with the exception of B3
which exhibited a ß crystallinity.
The changes in PV during storage are presented in Figure
1. The results showed that there was an increase in PV for
vegetable ghee samples during storage. Samples A4 and B4
showed significantly high initial (3.50 and 3.15) and final
(13.70 and 14.00) PV compared to other samples. This was
because they contained less stearin which made them less
stable and easy to oxidize and form peroxides. Samples in
set B generally were more stable to oxidation than those in
set A. The initial PV of set A samples ranged from 0.70 to
3.50 while their final PV at 16 weeks of storage ranged from
10.00 to 13.70. In set B, the initial PV ranged from 0.30 to
3.15 while the final PV ranged from 7.50 to 14.00.
Changes in FFA content during storage of vegetable
ghee samples are presented in Figure 2. FFA was lowest in
samples A4 and B4 throughout storage. Their initial FFA
levels were 0.06 and 0.08% while their final FFA levels
were 0.12 and 0.13% respectively, the increases in FFA was
0.06% for sample A4 and 0.05% for sample B4. Although
samples in set A were found to be less stable to oxidation
than samples in set B, set A samples were generally more
stable to hydrolysis than set B samples containing palm
kernel olein. Hydrolysis which gives rise to FFA is less
problematic in palm oil products than in palm kernel oil
products. FFA liberated from a hydrolytic reaction oxidized
at a faster rate than bound fatty acids, and could breakdown
into methyl ketones, lactones and ester.
Aldehydes content in the samples were not constant
during storage and fluctuation in the results indicated that

Table 3. Slip melting point and polymorphic form of vegetable ghee samples

Sample code Sample Slip melting point (°C) Polymorphic form

PO/POs/POo
A1 80 : 10 : 10 39.2 ß’
A2 60 : 20 : 20 42.3 ß’>>>ß
A3 40 : 30 : 30 46.8 ß’>>ß
A4 80 : 5 : 15 37.2 ß’ = ß
PO/POs/PKOo
B1 80 : 10 : 10 41.2 ß’
B2 60 : 20 : 20 47.3 ß’>ß
B3 40 : 30 : 30 48.2 ß
B4 80 : 5 : 15 38.0 ß’<ß

C Commercial samplea (hydrogenated) 38.5

Godrej Vegetable ghee, manufactured by Godrej Food Limited, Mumbai, India

a
Peroxide value

Peroxide value

Week of storage Week of storage

Figure 1. Changes in peroxide value with storage time

 794
Free fatty acid (%)

Free fatty acid (%)

Week of storage Week of storage

Figure 2. Changes in free fatty acid with storage time

there was no clear trend on the AV. Nevertheless, it was Table 5. Sensory scores of nasi minyak with vegetable ghee
noted that AV was maximum in set A samples between
week 4 to 8. For samples B2, B3 and B4, AV was maximum Nasi Minyak
Sensory Attributes
at a later time, between 12 to week 14. A4 B4
Two out of nine samples of vegetable ghee were Aroma 7.67 a
6.73b
selected for sensory evaluation. The samples were A4 and Texture 6.27a 6.87a
B4. Samples A4 and B4 were selected because of their SMP
Taste 7.40a 6.93a
which were within the range of Malaysian Standard (1984).
Roti canai and nasi minyak cooked with samples A4 and Overall Quality 7.67 a
7.00a
B4 were rated as moderately good to very good. There was
Evaluation Scale: 1 (extremely poor) to 9 (extremely good). Each value is the
no significant difference in aroma, texture, taste and overall mean of 15 observations. Mean within each row with the same superscripts are
quality of roti canai heated with vegetable ghee A4 or B4 not significantly different (P > 0.05)
(Table 4). On the other hand, nasi minyak cooked with
vegetable ghee A4 received significantly (P<0.05) higher
REFERENCES
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samples in terms of texture, taste and overall quality. It was vanaspati marketed in India. Journal of Food Lipids 12(3):
232-242.
noted that the colour of nasi minyak cooked with sample A4
MPOB Test Methods. 2005. Malaysian Palm Oil Board.
was more intense than that one cooked with sample B4. Nor Aini, I., Che Maimon, C.H., Hanirah, H., Zawiah, S. & Che
Man, Y.B. 1999. Trans-free vanaspati containing ternary
blends of palm oil-palm stearin-palm olein and palm oil-
Table 4. Sensory scores of roti canai palm stearin-palm kernel olein. J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 76(5):
643-648.
Roti Canai
Sensory Attributes Wilson, E. 2004. Trans fat update. Manuf. Confect. 84: 73-78.
A4 B4
Aroma 7.07 a
7.20a
I. Nor Aini*, H. Hanirah & C.H. Maimon
Texture 6.73 a
7.13a Malaysian Palm Oil Board
Taste 7.07a 7.20a No. 6, Persiaran Institusi,
Overall Quality 7.13a 7.27a Bandar Baru Bangi
43000 Kajang, Selangor D.E.
Evaluation Scale: 1 (extremely poor) to 9 (extremely good). Each value is the Malaysia
mean of 15 observations. Mean within each row with the same superscripts are
not significantly different (P > 0.05) S. Zawiah &Y.B. Che Man
Faculty of Food Science and Technology
Universiti Putra Malaysia
CONCLUSION 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E.
Malaysia
Formulation has an effect on physico-chemical properties
and quality of vegetable ghee. Roti canai and nasi minyak *Corresponding author; email: aini@mpob.gov.my
prepared with palm-based vegetable ghee were of good
quality. Palm oil and palm products are good alternatives Received: 25 June 2009
to hydrogenated fats for vegetable ghee production. Accepted: 10 March 2010